The MLB player rater

Who are the 50 most valuable fantasy players going? Are saves "worth" more or less than stolen bases? How do you compare a hitter to a pitcher on an equal playing field? We at Rototimes.com have a tool called the Player Rater, and each week I will discuss the top-50 fantasy baseball players based upon the rankings provided by this tool using the following parameters: a 12-team mixed league using standard 5x5 scoring with 14 hitters, nine pitchers and a $260 salary cap.

1. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM: Reyes is up to the first spot thanks to a week of hitting .300 with eight runs and two steals. Has anyone noticed that this guy has at least 99 runs, 190 hits and 52 steals in each of the past four seasons?

2. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: In a miserable slump (2-for-23) that has lowered his batting average to .348 which has almost assuredly cost him the NL batting crown (Chipper Jones is hitting .364).

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: He could be done for the year because of that troublesome shoulder, though he has four doubles and four home runs in his last 13 games.

4. David Wright, 3B, NYM: Four straight games with at least two hits have pushed his average up to .325 in September with six home runs, 17 RBIs and 17 runs in 19 games.

5. Matt Holliday, OF, COL: That back injury has sapped his swing of late, leading to some time on the bench and a .233 average in September.

6. Cliff Lee, SP, CLE: Lee is 10-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break following up a 12-2, 2.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in the first half.

7. Manny Ramirez, OF, LAD: You just can't keep a good man down. Over the past two weeks Manny is hitting .404 with five home runs, 15 RBI and a 1.300 OPS.

8. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR: Halladay has 19 victories, and with all this talk of innings and pitch counts circulating, the Jays don't seem to care with Halladay, who has gone over 220-innings in five of the past seven seasons.

9. Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, HOU: Over the last 18 games Berkman has one home run and a .158 average, and going back to the All-Star break he is hitting .264 with six home runs in 60 outings.

10. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY: In each of the last four months Arod has hit at least six home runs, and in three of the four months he has recorded at least 20 RBI.

11. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF: Lincecum has a 2.67 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over his last four starts. The Player Rater is clear on who the best pitcher in the NL is, hopefully the Cy Young voters are as well.

12. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: September hasn't been one of his best months as his current OPS of .737 would be a monthly low for this season (.889 overall).

13. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, LAA: Sixty one saves and counting for K-Rod who has limited batters to a .176 average in 22 appearances during the day.

14. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS: Shocking to see him hit just .265 over his last 49 AB after going on such a protracted run at the dish.

15. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX: Though he is hitting .313 the past two weeks his SLG is just .396 as he hasn't knocked in a single run in 13 games.

16. Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY: He hasn't been too bad in seven September appearances with one win, five saves and a 0.60 WHIP on the month.

17. Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM: Injured his knee running into the fence, but hopes to play on. The Mets hope he does since he has 11 home runs, 37 RBI and a .320 average since the start of August.

18. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX: Even though his season was done a month ago, he is still one of only two second baseman to scored 100 runs (102) and steal 25 bases (26). The other is Brian Roberts.

19. CC Sabathia, SP, MIL: He has lost his last two starts but is still 9-2 with a 1.81 ERA over 15 appearances with the Brewers.

20. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Hasn't done much to help his club in the playoff push with a .254 average and just one home run over his last 20 games.

21. Mark Teixeira, 1B, LAA: The switch hitter has been deadly from both sides of the plate hitting .307 with a .912 OPS against lefties and .305 with a .981 OPS against righties.

22. Aubrey Huff, 1B/3B, BAL: Has just one home run the past two weeks and he is just 5-for-27 of late (.185).

23. Nate McLouth, OF, PIT: Over the past 13 games McLouth has scored 14 times with 11 RBIs for the lowly Pirates.

24. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, BOS: Holding batters to a .209 average in pitches one through 15 though that number increases to .250 on pitches 16-30.

25. Ryan Braun, 3B/OF, MIL: Think he is injured? Over the past three weeks he has one home run, three RBI and a .512 OPS in 74 AB. Flat out awful.

26. Jason Bay, OF, BOS: He has enjoyed hitting at Fenway with 17 runs, 15 RBI and a .915 OPS in 21 games in Boston.

27. Brandon Webb, SP, ARI: After a brief hiccup he is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA over his last three appearances for a team struggling to make the playoffs.

28. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: Finishing strong, Suzuki is hitting .385 over his last seven games despite the fact that he has scored just one run in that time.

29. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA: Continuing to pile up the strikeouts, this is the Santana who has the most punchouts in baseball with 209 in 213.1 innings.

30. Miguel Cabrera, 1B/3B, DET: Pitchers haven't been able to slow Cabrera down (.294-36-125), perhaps his back injury will.

31. Johnny Damon, OF, NYY: Damon has flexed his muscles of late with four home runs and 10 RBIs in his past 10 games.

32. Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS: Hoping to return for the playoffs, Quentin is still tied for the AL lead in home runs with 36 (Miguel Cabrera).

33. Bobby Abreu, OF, NYY: Abreu is on the cusp of .300 at .299, and he has thrived in RISP and two out situations this season hitting .389 with a 1.070 OPS.

34. Ryan Ludwick, OF, STL: Over his last 11 games, one of this season's surprise stars has just one home run and two RBIs.

35. Joakim Soria, RP, KC: Batters have had no chance over his past nine appearances as Soria has posted a win, eight saves and a 0.54 WHIP.

36. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD: Has finally caught a bit of fire at the plate after a few weeks of down production as he has hit .333 over his last 45 AB.

37. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL: At home (.302), or on the road (.292), this guy has flat out hit (.296 overall).

38. Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN: Needs two RBI to match his career best total of 130 though his average is down to .308.

39. Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI: Simply mashing of late with a .327-9-27 line over 20 September games.

40. Alex Rios, OF, TOR: Rios is hitting .291 overall but he is hitting just .158 (6-for-38) over his last 10 games.

41. Jose Valverde, RP, HOU: Since the All-Star break he is holding batters to a .176 batting average leading to a spectacular WHIP of 0.81 over 23.1 innings.

42. Kevin Youkilis, 1B, BOS: With a .312-26-109 line, he has actually been more productive than Prince Fielder (.274-33-98).

43. Shane Victorino, OF, PHI: Coming through when the pressure is on, Shane is hitting .351 with 14 runs scored in September.

44. Dan Haren, SP, ARI: Has won a career best 16 games despite a down second half (4.10 ERA, 1.38 WHIP in 13 starts).

45. Cole Hamels, SP, PHI: He has three wins over his last four starts though the WHIP has been unusually poor (1.42).

46. Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL: He continues to pace the majors in batting average at .364, but injuries have limited him to just 12 AB the past week.

47. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD: Just one RBI away from his second straight 30 home run, 100 RBI and 100 run season.

48. Johan Santana, SP, NYM: Though his 1.17 WHP is the worst it has been since 2002, his 2.65 ERA is the lowest it has been in four years. He will need a big finish for a fifth straight 200-K season as he has 187 as of this writing.

50. Ryan Dempster, SP, CHC: Over his last 12 starts Dempster is 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 79 K in 77 innings for the Cubbies.

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